Editing Balerion (section)

==History==
===Origin===
Balerion was [[named after]] an [[Balerion (god)|ancient god]] of the [[Valyrian Freehold]].{{Ref|ACOK|12}} He was born in [[Valyria]], and was one of the five dragons [[Aenar Targaryen]] brought with him when he fled to [[Dragonstone]] to survive the [[Doom of Valyria]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|Ancient History: The Doom of Valyria}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}} After the other four of Aenar's dragons died, Balerion became the last creature to have seen the Freehold in its prime.

===Aegon the Conqueror===
Balerion was eventually claimed by Lord [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon Targaryen]], some time before he married his sisters [[Visenya Targaryen|Visenya]] and [[Rhaenys Targaryen|Rhaenys]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}} Aegon became involved in the wars in the [[Disputed Lands]] when [[Pentos]] and [[Tyrosh]] approached him, inviting him to join a grand alliance against [[Volantis]], and he chose to heed their call. Mounting Balerion, he flew east to meet the [[Prince of Pentos]] and the [[magister]]s of the [[Free City]], then flew to [[Lys]] in time to set ablaze a [[Volantene]] fleet trying to take the city.{{Ref|TWOIAF|Ancient History: The Doom of Valyria}}{{ref|ADWD|14}}

[[File: Forging the iron throne.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Balerion and workers help forge the [[Iron Throne]], as depicted by Donato Giancola.]]

Afterwards, Aegon turned his attention to conquering the [[Seven Kingdoms]], during which he flew on Balerion. Aegon descended on Lords [[House Mooton|Mooton]] and [[House Darklyn|Darklyn]], killing both of them during [[Aegon's first test]]. After the [[ironborn]] victory at the [[Wailing Willows]], Balerion burned the victors on the [[Gods Eye]].{{ref|FAB|Aegon's Conquest}} Next, Aegon took Balerion to [[Harrenhal]], where [[Harren Hoare]], [[King of the Isles and the Rivers]], had taken refuge in his formidable fortress. When Harren the Black had not yielded by sunset, Aegon took Balerion high up and descended inside the castle walls, putting the new castle to flame. Balerion's [[dragonfire]] burned so hot that the towers of Harrenhal went up like candles, melting and twisting into the shapes they retain to this day. King Harren and his remaining sons all perished, ending the line of [[House Hoare]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}} The men of [[Crackclaw Point]] quickly surrendered to Visenya after learning of the [[burning of Harrenhal]].{{ref|AFFC|20}} 

Aegon next rode Balerion in the [[Field of Fire]], besides his sisters on [[Vhagar]] and [[Meraxes]]. Between the three dragons, four thousand men were burned to death, including [[Mern IX Gardener]], [[King of the Reach]], resulting in Targaryen victory.{{Ref|AGOT|13}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}} When Aegon learned that [[Torrhen Stark]], [[King in the North]], had crossed the [[Neck]] and was leading an army into the [[riverlands]], he raced ahead of his army on Balerion to meet the threat. When the Targaryen host was encamped at one side of the [[Trident]] and the northern host on the other side, Torrhen's [[bastard]] brother, [[Brandon Snow]], offered to assassinate the sleeping dragons. Recalling the destruction the three dragons had caused at the Field of Fire, Torrhen instead submitted to Aegon.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest}} After [[Aegon's coronations|Aegon was crowned]] by the [[High Septon (Aegon's Conquest)|High Septon]], he was cheered by tens of thousands of onlookers as he flew on Balerion through the streets of [[Oldtown]].{{ref|FAB|Aegon's Conquest}}

According to song, at the end of the war Balerion helped to forge the [[Iron Throne]] by melting the swords of Aegon's fallen enemies.{{Ref|AGOT|43}} In {{date|2}}, Aegon flew his dragon to the [[Iron Islands]] to end the [[invasion of the Iron Islands|succession struggle]] among the ironborn.{{ref|FAB|Reign of the Draogn - The Wars of King Aegon I}}

Aegon flew Balerion during the [[First Dornish War]], finding [[Sunspear]] abandoned when he arrived. [[Dorne]] rose in rebellion after he departed, however, and Lord [[Orys Baratheon]] was mutilated by the [[Wyl of Wyl]]. Aegon retaliated by burning several of [[House Wyl]]'s keeps, and the king later attacked [[Sandstone]], [[Vaith]], and the [[Hellholt]] with the aid of Visenya. Aegon burned [[Skyreach]] after [[House Fowler]] attacked [[Nightsong]]. During the two years of the [[Dragon's Wroth]] following the death of Rhaenys Targaryen, each Dornish castle (with the exception of Sunspear) was burned multiple times by the vengeful Aegon and Visenya.{{ref|FAB|Reign of the Draogn - The Wars of King Aegon I}}

King Aegon made frequent royal progresses throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Besides allowing the new monarch to learn more about his subjects, the sight of Balerion during these visits also helped to prevent rebellion.{{ref|FAB|Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I}}

===Maegor the Cruel===
[[File:Sept of Remembrance.jpg|400px|thumb|right|King [[Maegor I Targaryen]] and Balerion burn the [[Sept of Remembrance]], by Jordi Gonzalez for ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]''.]]

After the death of King [[Aegon I Targaryen]], Balerion was claimed by his younger son, Prince [[Maegor I Targaryen|Maegor]], who had long coveted his father's mount, and had not claimed another dragon because he considered all others unworthy. After [[Jonos Arryn]] imprisoned his brother [[Ronnel Arryn (king)|Ronnel]], [[Lord of the Eyrie]], and declared himself independent of the [[Iron Throne]], Maegor rode the Black Dread to the [[Vale of Arryn]] and put down his rebellion.{{ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}

When Maegor was exiled to [[Pentos]] as punishment for his [[polygamy|polygamous marriage]], he took Balerion with him. After the death of his elder brother, King [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys I]], Maegor flew back to [[Westeros]] on Balerion to claim the Iron Throne.{{ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}}

During the [[Faith Militant uprising]], King Maegor used Balerion in the [[burning of the Sept of Remembrance]] and in the [[battle at the Great Fork]] of the [[Blackwater Rush]].{{ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}} In the [[westerlands]], the king burned the seats of Houses [[House Broome|Broome]], [[House Doggett|Doggett]], [[House Falwell|Falwell]], and [[House Lorch|Lorch]].{{ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}} Maegor threatened to attack [[Oldtown]] as well, but the city opened its gates to the king after the unexpected death of the [[High Septon (Aenys I)|High Septon]].{{ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}}

In the [[Battle Beneath the Gods Eye]], Maegor used Balerion to kill his nephew Prince [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]] and his dragon [[Quicksilver]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} After the completion of the [[Red Keep]], Maegor began construction of the [[Dragonpit]] to house Balerion, [[Vhagar]], and other dragons.{{ref|FAB|The Sons of the Dragon}}

After Maegor's death, Balerion returned to [[Dragonstone (island)|Dragonstone]].{{ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

===Princess Aerea===
[[File:Aerea_and_Balerion_by_Joto_Saraiva.jpg|thumb|right|500px|[[Aerea Targaryen]] and Balerion in Valyria by Joto Saraiva]]
In late {{date|54}}, Princess [[Aerea Targaryen]] claimed Balerion from the yard of [[Dragonstone]] one morning. They disappeared and went missing for more than a year. King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]] sent expeditions to try and locate Balerion and the young princess, and the [[master of coin]], [[Rego Draz]], offered a reward for any information on their whereabouts, but none came forward that were credible. Balerion was the largest living dragon in the world, but there were no sightings of the dragon anywhere. Septon [[Barth]] believed that the lack of sightings suggested that Balerion was no longer in [[Westeros]]. [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]] departed on [[Dreamfyre]] to search for Balerion and her missing daughter.{{Ref|FAB|Birth, Death and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I}}

Balerion returned to [[King's Landing]] in {{Date|56}}, descending into the courtyard of the [[Red Keep]] with Aerea barely clinging to him. The princess was severely ill, and died soon after. Barth's accounts describe wounds and half-healed scars on Balerion. The dragon bore a huge jagged rent down his left side, almost nine feet long, and fresh blood still dripped from the wound, hot and smoking. Barth speculated that, when Aerea claimed Balerion, she was unable to bend the dragon to her will, and instead the dragon had taken her to the place he had been born, [[Valyria]]. Shortly thereafter, Balerion became the first dragon to be housed in the [[Dragonpit]], where he was guarded by the [[Dragonkeepers]].{{ref|fab|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

===Further life===
Prince [[Baelon Targaryen (son of Jaehaerys I)|Baelon Targaryen]] smacked Balerion on his snout the first time the boy entered the Dragonpit.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}} When Princess [[Alyssa Targaryen]] came to the Dragonpit to claim a dragon of her own in {{Date|75}}, the Dragonkeepers persuaded her not to try and claim Balerion, insisting that the dragon had become old and slow, suggesting to her that she would much more prefer a faster dragon.{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain}}
 
The last rider of Balerion was Prince [[Viserys I Targaryen|Viserys Targaryen]], who entered the Dragonpit to claim the dragon in {{Date|93}}. Balerion was hard to rouse, and struggled when Viserys urged him into the sky. They flew around King's Landing three times, although Viserys later confided to his father that he had originally intended to fly Balerion to [[Dragonstone]]. However, fearing the dragon lacked the strength to do so, Viserys had opted otherwise.{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain}}

Balerion died in {{Date|94}},{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}} less than a year after Viserys claimed him as his mount.{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain}} 

===Legacy===
Princess [[Rhaenys Targaryen (daughter of Rhaegar)|Rhaenys Targaryen]] named her [[Balerion (cat)|black kitten]] after Balerion, and the girl often pretended that her cat was actually the Black Dread.{{ref|AGOT|58}}

Along with eighteen{{Ref|AGOT|13}} other Targaryen [[Dragon skulls (Targaryen)|dragon skulls]], Balerion's skull hung on a wall in the [[Red Keep]]'s throne room.{{Ref|AGOT|3}}{{Ref|AGOT|12}} After [[Robert's Rebellion]], King [[Robert I Baratheon]] had the skulls removed from the throne room and stored them in a dank cellar. In {{Date|284}}, when [[Tyrion Lannister]] visited the capital for the [[wedding]] of his sister [[Cersei Lannister|Cersei]] to Robert, he observed the skulls in the cellar, including Balerion's.{{Ref|AGOT|13}}

There is a picture of Balerion the Black Dread, done in colored inks, in the book ''[[Dragonkin, Being a History of House Targaryen from Exile to Apotheosis, with a Consideration of the Life and Death of Dragons]]'', written by [[Maester]] [[Thomax]].{{Ref|AFFC|5}}